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HomePod Sonos Arc Ultra vs. HomePods

W

WatchBands

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 11, 2022
59
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With the release of the Sonos Arc Ultra, I was curious if anyone has had a chance to compare it to two HomePods OG or V2?

For my current TV set up I’m using two OG HomePods and while I’m happy with the sound, I’m curious if the new Ultra will outperform it. Down the road I would eventually add in the sub and eras but I wanted to see how well the Ultra on its own compares to the HomePods.
 
My guess is that the Ultra is vastly superior, not least because it offers a center channel, but like you, I'd be interested in learning from those who have tried both.
 
those who have compared the Arc to the Arc Ultra have said the ultra is much clearer for voices.

I'd be putting money on the ultra to win the shootout with homepods.
 
Soundwise I'd say the Ultra will outperform the Homepod, but the biggest difference is prob how they work and integrate with difference services.

When it comes to integration both have their pros and cons.

I'm running both (in different places) and while I do love the design and iOS integration of the homepods I still love my Sonos system, especially the new ones with decent Voicecontrol.

But, my main annoyance with homepod is mainly the integration with Spotify, If I would be 100% Apple I'd say the homepod would be superior.
 
Can’t speak for the Ultra but I do have the regular ARC. Also, I previously haddual HomePods for my sound system for comparison. The arc was definitely an upgrade over the homepods. HomePod integration was a bit simpler Though. Not that Sonos is all that complex. This is not to mention if you add a sub and or surrounds too. It only gets better.

so, I’d imagine the Ultra is even a bit better than the regular ARC too. Come to think of it I may be selling my origional arc to offset the upgrade to an ultra.
 
dsaponaro said:
Can’t speak for the Ultra but I do have the regular ARC. Also, I previously haddual HomePods for my sound system for comparison. The arc was definitely an upgrade over the homepods. HomePod integration was a bit simpler Though. Not that Sonos is all that complex. This is not to mention if you add a sub and or surrounds too. It only gets better.

so, I’d imagine the Ultra is even a bit better than the regular ARC too. Come to think of it I may be selling my origional arc to offset the upgrade to an ultra.
Click to expand...
Have you had any issues with running the ARC with an Apple TV if you have one? The one thing I like about the HomePods which is how I never run into any issues, simply turn on the TV and it works *knocks on wood*

When reading the SONOS subreddit some of the issues I'm seeing from users is turning me away from upgrading to Sonos.
 
Reverend Benny said:
Soundwise I'd say the Ultra will outperform the Homepod, but the biggest difference is prob how they work and integrate with difference services.

When it comes to integration both have their pros and cons.

I'm running both (in different places) and while I do love the design and iOS integration of the homepods I still love my Sonos system, especially the new ones with decent Voicecontrol.

But, my main annoyance with homepod is mainly the integration with Spotify, If I would be 100% Apple I'd say the homepod would be superior.
Click to expand...
Do you feel the Ultra has the same bass as the OG HomePods? Or is it better? I currently live in an apartment so I'm not sure how much I could add to the Ultra outside of ERA 100 or 300's potentially.
 
WatchBands said:
Do you feel the Ultra has the same bass as the OG HomePods? Or is it better? I currently live in an apartment so I'm not sure how much I could add to the Ultra outside of ERA 100 or 300's potentially.
Click to expand...
I apologize if I wasn't clear about that I'm not an owner of the ultra so I can't really compare. I was comparing the homepod to the Sonos.
I have had a good listen to the old one tho at my friends house and it sounds great. But haven't been able to do a side by side comparison. The room can have an impact on the sound as well so its really hard to compare.

I would say tho if you are happy with the homepods stick to the ecosystem. Don't get me wrong, I love Sonos but the latest mess with the app (sure, almost solved but still a bit buggy) made me think I should look elsewhere beyond Apple and Sonos for my next buy. Not sure what it would be tho.

A sidenote tho, the Era 300 is a beast. I only have the 2x100 but listened to my mates 300 and it sounds great. Nice design too.
 
I used a pair of the original HomePods for several years before “upgrading” to a Sonos Arc plus subwoofer. (Not Ultra)

I wish I’d put the money elsewhere. There was scarcely any improvement but room acoustics are critical so ymmv.
 
WatchBands said:
Have you had any issues with running the ARC with an Apple TV if you have one? The one thing I like about the HomePods which is how I never run into any issues, simply turn on the TV and it works *knocks on wood*

When reading the SONOS subreddit some of the issues I'm seeing from users is turning me away from upgrading to Sonos.
Click to expand...
I've had the ARC for a few years now. It works perfectly with the AppleTV - no issues. And unlike the HomePods (through the magic of eARC) the Sonos Arc also works with my Nintendo Switch and whatever other TV inputs I plug in.

Sonos has been having a ton of trouble with their app lately. They released a completely new rewrite version of the app last Spring, and it has gone horribly. It doesn't affect the TV functionality at all since all of that happens outside of the app (using eARC and such) but basic in-app things like playing music has become buggy and laggy. Over the last few months, it has become a bit better, but still far off from the high-mark of what it was last year.

If I were buying a home theater system today, I would not buy Sonos. Despite having 6 other Sonos speakers throughout my house, I am not buying another device until the app situation is improved (if ever).

If I were buying today, I would probably get a top of the line Samsung soundbar with surrounds and sub - all the reviews are great. Or, since I have an LG tv, I might go for the LG equivalent to take advantage of the brand integrations.
 
I think it will depend on your use case. For TV / Film audio the Arc Ultra should easily outperform the HomePods. For stereo music, I think the HomePods would win purely for the physical separation you can achieve. For Atmos music I’d be interested to hear other opinions.
 
I have a Sonos Arc plus a Sub 3 and two Era 100s as surrounds. The Arc system sounds amazing, but I've never played music or video just through the Arc alone.

My suspicion is that if you're using it for just music at lower volumes, two HomePod 2's would probably be better since you could potentially have them more physically separated than the length of the Arc. But for anything using Atmos, I'm betting the Arc will be better. The Arc Ultra, which I've never heard in person, is supposed to be better still.

The other thing is that the Arc/Arc Ultra can be paired with surround speakers, of course, so there's really no contest here. And you can pair it with a Sub or a Sub Mini. And the Sub Mini is quite good, to be honest. In a smaller space, it is likely all that's needed. I've got a Sub Mini connected to a pair of Era 100s for music in my home office
 
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